Dbq Mayan Civilization

The Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization created by the Mayan people. Although this civilization no longer exists, the Mayan people made incredible contributions that still exist today. Let’s explore some of these contributions!
The Mayan civilization had some of the most successful historical cities ever founded. There were four major cities, one of which was named Tikal. Tikal was one of the largest cities of the Mayan civilization. The city had a large ceremonial center with pyramids, temples, and monuments. Even though Tikal was a very advanced city, unfortunately it started to decline in the 800’s. The reason why this historical city started to vanish was because it was over populated and the residents began to

exhaust their natural resources. Sadly by 1000 A.D. Tikal was abandoned. However the ruins still lie in the Guatemalan jungles even today!
Food was another essential part of the Mayan culture. Without food the Mayan civilization would not have been able to flourish. They were able to grow different kinds of crops. The main source of food was corn, or as the Mayans called it, maize. Women ground corn using tools called mano and metate. The ground corn was then used to make corn pancakes called tortillas.

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The Mayan Civilization
The Maya grew most of their crops in fields called milpas.

Although food was an important resource it was not the only one. Water was also a major resource. To catch water, farmers had to dig deep holes called cisterns. . As a result of this, finding water was easier for them. Without their crops and their cisterns the Mayans would not have been around for as long as they were.
The Mayans were also known for making amazing art. They were especially skilled in pottery. Women mostly made bowls, plates, and pots out of clay. The pots were decorated to make them look more sophisticated. They also made utensils out of clay, as well as statues for their rulers. Another talent was that they were masters at weaving. The Mayans also grew cotton and spun it into thread. To add color to the cotton they used dyes. Also, they made creative symbols to represent a person’s birth, marriage, and even death.
Another important part of the Mayan culture was religion. Religion was one of the reasons why they had such a large civilization. The Mayans worshipped over 100 Gods! The Mayans told stories about them and even built palaces for them. Itzamma was the most important God. His wife’s name was Ix Chel. One wish that the Mayans wanted was for their creators to worship

them.

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The Mayan Civilization
If they were worshipped then the Mayans believed that they would be welcomed to an afterlife. However, if they were horrible people while alive, then upon their death they would go to the 9 places of suffering.
Education was another important part of the Mayan culture. The Mayans developed an advanced form of writing using many sounds and symbols called hieroglyphic writing. The Maya also made advances in math and astronomy. They made paper out of fig tree bark. Out of the books they had written only a few books dating from the 1100’s to the early 1500’s remain. The Mayan also kept records on large stone monuments called stelae.
In summary, the Mayans had a very sophisticated civilization. They were intelligent people and they invented many tools that we still use today. Everything about the Mayan culture, from farming, architecture, art, education, and religion were not only amazing but also very advanced. We were able to learn so much from the Mayan civilization!